Lock bottom compartmented box

ABSTRACT

A lock bottom compartmented box made from a single cardboard blank has a series of transverse dividing walls extending the full height of the box, thereby dividing it into a plurality of rectangular compartments extending along the longitudinal axis of the box. The bottom closure is especially strong because portions of the dividing walls are integral with the bottom closure flaps and interlock to provide a continuous stretch of box material across the bottom and up the sides of the box.

United States Patent Hackenberg Nov. 25, 1975 1 LOCK BOTTOMCOMPARTMENTED BOX 3,158.286 11/1964 P111111 228/115 5 2 5 [75] Inventor:Robert A. Hackenberg, East Lyme, 133606 9/1974 Hdckenberg 2 Conn.Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance i 1 Asslgneel Robertson Paper BOX -1Assistant Examiner-Douglas B. Farrow Montville, Conn.

[22] Filed: Nov. 1, 1974 [57] ABSTRACT [2]] Appl. No.: 519,847 A lookbottom compartmented box made from a single cardboard blank has a seriesof transverse dividing [52] U S CI 229/27. 229/15 229/41 B. wallsextending the full height of the box, thereby di- 229/39 229/35 vidingit into a plurality of rectangular compartments [51] Int Cl 2 B65D 5extending along the longitudinal axis of the box. The [58] Fie'ld B 39 Rbottom closure is especially strong because portions of 229/35" 45 29 453 21 1/60 R the dividing walls are integral with the bottom closureflaps and interlock to provide a continuous stretch of [56] ReferencesCited box material across the bottom and up the sides of the box. UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1145,902 8/1964 Nolen 229/27 7 Claims 8 Drawing FiguresUS. Patent Nov. 25, 1975 Sheet10f3 3,921,894

O o 2 m F\: W M 2 B E a. .h C 6 2 Lock BOTTOM COMPARTMENTED BOXBACKGROUND or THE INVENTION shown in U.S.-Pat. Nos. 2,785,844 and2,880.921.

Most of these prior containers have a central wall extendinglongitudinally through the box dividing it in half with separatecompartments being situated on each side of the dividing wall. Whilethese prior boxes and cartons perform their function satisfactorily, itwould be desirable to have a box of this general type with no centralwall and a much stronger bottom wall so that the box can hold relativelyheavy articles without them pushing out through the bottom of the boxduring handling. Also, it would be very advantageous if a box such asthis could be made with less material without sacrificing its basicstrength.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lockbottom compartmented box which is very strong and sturdy.

Another object of the invention is to provide a box of this general typewhich can be set up very quickly with a minimum of effort.

Still another object is to provide a compartmented, lock bottom boxwhich is made from a single blank with a minimum amount ofmaterial inthe blank.

Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appearhereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the constructions hereinafter set forth and the scope ofthe invention will be indicated in the claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, the subject box is made from a singleblank of material consisting of front and rear panels and a pair of sidepanels connected together along appropriate fold lines with the endmostpanels being secured together by a glue flap to form a tube.

Flaps are. hinged to the bottom edges of each of the front, rear andside panels which form the bottom of the box. These same flaps alsoconstitute transverse dividing walls which separate the inside of thebox into a ,plurality of compartments extending in a single row alongthe longitudinal axis of the box. These walls may extend the full orpartial height of the box.

The flaps connected to the front and rear wall panels being similar andsimilarly arranged have a zig-zag configuratiori with each flap having atransverse hinge positioned at the corner where the free end of the flapfirst changes direction. The flaps connected to each of the side wallpanels are both rectangular and each of these flaps has transverse ahinge aligned with the hinges in the first pair of flaps. a To form the"box, the bottom closure flaps are all folded alongtheir hinge linesltotheir respective wall panels so that they lie flush against thesepanels. Then the free ends of the zig-zag flaps are connected to the free ends of the adjacent rectangular flaps and the endmost wall panels areconnected by a glue flap. When the wall panels are formed into a tube asthe box is set up, the bottom closure flaps all fold along theirrespective hinge lines to form both the bottom closure for the box and apair of transverse, upstanding dividing walls within the box.

When the box is fully set up, each zig-zag flap extends all the wayacross the bottom of the box and up one sidewall. Furthermore, thezig-zag flaps interlock and any'weight in the box bearing down on theseflaps urges them into even more intimate locking contact, with theresult that even relatively heavy objects in the box do not push outthrough-the bottom of the box.

The top of the box can be closed off using any conventional type ofclosure including the flip-top variety, if desired.

Thus, the subject box is of simple construction being made from a singleblank of material. Furthermore. it can be shipped and stored in aflattened condition so that it occupies a minimum amount of space. Whenneeded, the box is easily set up simply by urging together the oppositeedges of the flattened panels whereupon the bottom closure flaps andtransverse dividing walls automatically fold out and lock into place.With all of these advantages, the box should prove to be a very usefulmerchandising tool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of thenature and objects of the invention, reference should be had'to thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view from above, with parts cutaway showing acompartmented box made in accordance with the principles of thisinvention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the box partially set up;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view showing the blank from which the FIGS. 1 and 2box is made;

FIGS. 4 to 6 are similar views illustrating the mode of folding theblank to form the box;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. I showing a modified form of thesubject box; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the blank used to make theFIG. 7 box.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. 1 of thedrawings, the box is comprised of a front wall panel 10, a rear wallpanel .12 and left and right side wall panels 14 and 16 connectedtogethe r along fold lines or hinges 18. A glue flap 22 hinged at 24 tothe side of panel 14 is adhered to the free side edge of panel 10 sothat the panels can be formed into a tube. Conventional cover flaps 26a,26b, and 26c are connected along hinge lines 28 to the top edges of therear wall and side wall panels to close off the top of the box.

Still referring to FIG. 1, inside the box are a pair of transversedividing walls shown generally at 32 and 34 distributed along the lengthof the box. These walls may 7 extend the full height of the box or onlypartway up depending on the application. In any event, they divide thebox into three compartments aligned in a single row along thelongitudinal axis of the box. The box bottom closure indicated generallyat 36 is connected to the dividing walls 32 and 34 and has doublethickness for added strength.

As best seen in FIGS. I and 3, the bottom closure 36 and dividing walls32 and 34 comprise a pair of identical zig-zag-shaped flaps 42 and 44hinged to the edges of panels and 12 along hinge lines 46 and 48,respectively. Flap 42 is divided into two parts 42a and 42b by a hingeline 52 located at the inner end of the outermost leg of that flap.Hinge line 52 extends parallel to hinge line 46. A second hinge line 54extends from the end of hinge line 52 at the inside corner of flap 42perpendicular to line 52, thereby dividing flap section 42b into twoparts 42c and 42d, the last of which functions as a glue flap.

Identical hinge lines 56 and 58 are located on flap 44, thereby dividingthat flap into a section 44a hinged to panel 12, a section 44d whichfunctions as a glue flap and a bridging section 440.

A second pair of identical long rectangular flaps 62 and 64 areconnected to the edges of side wall panels 14 and 16 along hinge lines66 and 68, respectively. These flaps are divided into two parts 62a, 62band 64a, 64b by hinge lines 72 and 74 respectively aligned with hingelines 52 and 56.

As best seen in FIGS. 3 to 6, to form the FIG. 1 box from the FIG. 3blank, the bottom closure flaps 42 and 44 are folded back against panels10 and 12 and flaps 62 and 64 are folded flush against end panels 14 and16, all as shown in FIG. 4. Glue is then applied to the exposed faces ofthe glue flaps 42d and 44d and to the free side edge margin of panel 10also as shown in that figure. Next, panel 14 is folded over to the left,as shown in FIG. 5, so that the glue flap 44d adheres to the exposedface of flap section 62b. Finally, panel 10 is folded over to the rightso that glue flap 42d adheres to flap section 64b and glue flap 22adheres to the free side edge margin of panel 10.

The box is set up by pushing together the two side edges of theflattened box shown in FIG. 6. This opens up the wall panels forming atube as shown in FIG. 2. As the wall panels open up, the bottom closureflaps fold out away from the sides of the panels and downwards as shownin FIG. 2 to form the transverse dividing walls 32 and 34 and box bottomclosure 36 seen in FIG. 1.

More particularly, the flap sections 42a and 44a fold downwards, withflap sections 64aand 62a folding down on top of them. Also the flapsections 42a and 44a interlock as shown in FIG. 2. When the wall panelsare fully open, the flap sections 42a and 44a engage one another atpoint 73 in FIG. 1. This point corresponds to the inner corners at theinner ends of the outermost legs of flaps 42 and 44. Flaps 42 and 44 areshaped so that these corners engage at a point 73 before flap sections42a, 44a, 62a and 64a comprising bottom closure 36 can lie in ahorizontal plane. Therefore, any downward force on.the bottom closure 36causes these two flaps 42 and 44 to more firmly engage and interlock.Resultantly, the bottom closure is well able to support even heavyobjects in the box. Even further strength is added to the bottom closurebecause the overlapping flap sections 42a, 44a, 64a and 62a provide adouble thickness of cardboard across most of the bottom of the box, andalso because all glued seams extend parallel to the direction of anyforce against the bottom closure so that the seams do not pull apart.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a longer box having four instead of threecompartments. In other words, it has a third dividing wall showngenerally at 80 in FIG. 7. The FIG. 8 blank is substantially identicalto the FIG. 3 blank except that the FIG. 3 flap sections 42c and 446 aremodified. Those flap sections are replaced by generally square sections42eand 442. Hinged to the free side edge of flap section 42e is anadditional section 42f. The hinge line 82 between them extends parallelto hinge line 54. An identical flap section 44f is hinged along hingeline 84 to the free side edge of flap section 44e.

Preferably, also, small tabs 86 and 88 are formed at the side edges offlap sections 42a and 44a below sections 42fand 44fto help lock theflaps together to form the bottom closure.

When forming the box during the folding and gluing operation describedabove, glue is applied to one-half of the exposed face of flap section42fas seen at 92 in FIG. 8. When the panel 10 is folded over as shown inFIG. 5, flap section 42foverlaps about one-half of flap section 44f andthe overlapping portions adhere.

When the box is set up with the panels folding down as described above,flap sections 42f and 44f together form the central transverse dividingwall in the box. Also, the flap sections 42e and 44e extend up flushagainst the front and rear wall panels 12 and 10 lending added strengththere. Further. the tabs 86 and 88 overlie flap sections 44a and 42a,respectively, to add reinforcement to the bottom closure in view of thelonger length of the box.

This four-compartment box provides the same benefits as thethree-compartment one in terms of bottom closure strength, ease of setupand utilization ofa minimum amount of material.

Although in the embodiments specifically illustrated herein the boxcompartments are shown as being square and approximately equal in size,this need not be the case. The center compartment in the FIG. 1 box canbe made larger or smaller by appropriately increasing or decreasing thelength of front and rear panels 10 and 12. The same is true with the twomiddle compartments of the FIG. 7 box. In fact, these two middlecompartments can be sized differently from the end compartments and fromeach other. The only constraint in this respect is that the two endcompartments of each box embodiment must be of the same size and squarein order for the box to fold and lock properly.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those madeapparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and,since certain changes may be made in the above constructions withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is further to be understood that all of the claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed.

I claim:

1. A compartmented box comprising a first pair of identical wall panels,a second pair of identical wall panels hinged alternately to those inthe first pair to form a tube, a first pair of substantially identicalzig-zag shaped flaps hinged to the corresponding free edges of thepanels in the first pair, a second pair of identical generallyrectangular flaps hinged to the corresponding free edges of the panelsin the second pair, and means for connecting the free end of eachzig-zag-shaped flap to the free end of the adjacent rectangular flap sothat when the wall panels are opened up to form a tube, the flaps folddownwards and outwards away from the wall panels with the zig-zag-shapedflaps underlying the rectangular flaps and interlocking with one anotherto form a sturdy bottom closure for the box and with theconnected-together portions of the flap pairs forming transversedividing walls within the box, and wherein each flap in the first pairhas a laterally extending flap section hinged to its free end and meansfor connecting together overlapping portions of said laterally extendingflap sections so that two together form an additional transversedividing wall within the box.

2. The box defined in claim I and further including means connected tothe panels for closing the opposite end of the box. 7 v

3. The box defined in claim 1 and further including a pair of laterallyextending tabs on the first pair of flaps, said tabs being situateddirectly below said laterally extending flap sections 4. A compartmentedbox comprising a first pair of identical wall panels, a second pair ofidentical wall panels hinged alternately to those in the first pair toform a tube, a first pair of substantially identical zigzag-shaped flapshinged to the corresponding free edges of the panels in the first pair,a second pair of identical generally rectangular flaps hinged to the corresponding free edges of the panels in the second pair, fold linesextending across said zig-zag-shaped and rectangular flaps, said foldlines being parallel to their hinges to the first and second pairs ofwall panels and spaced therefrom a distance approximately equal to thewidth of the second pair of wall panels, means for connecting the freeend portion of each zig-zag-shaped flap to the free end portion of theadjacent rectangular flap so that when the wall panels are opened up toform a tube, the flap portions between said fold lines and hinges folddownwards and outwards away from the wall panels with the zig-zag-shapedflap portions underlying the rectangular flap portions and interlockingwith one another to form a sturdy bottom closure for the box, while theflap portions beyond said fold lines project up parallel to the wallpanels so that the rectangular flap portions beyond said fold lines forma pair of parallel upstanding walls which divide the box into at leastthree aligned compartments.

5. The box defined in claim 4 wherein said zig-zagshaped flap portionsbeyond said fold lines extend upwards along and lie flush against one ofthe wall panels in the first wall panel pair so as to strengthen the boxbottom closure.

6. A box defined in claim 4 wherein the zig-zag- Y shaped flaps aredimensioned so that they engage one another substantially at the centerof the bottom closure just before the wall panels are fully openedsothat the flap portions comprising the bottom closure are pressed moretightly together by the box contents.

7. A box blank comprising an aligned series of four hinged-together wallpanels, substantially identical zigzag-shaped flaps hinged tocorresponding free edges of maining wall panels.

1. A compartmented box comprising a first pair of identical wall panels,a second pair of identical wall panels hinged alternately to those inthe first pair to form a tube, a first pair of substantially identicalzig-zag shaped flaps hinged to the corresponding free edges of thepanels in the first pair, a second pair of identical generallyrectangular flaps hinged to the corresponding free edges of the panelsin the second pair, and means for connecting the free end of eachzig-zag-shaped flap to the free end of the adjacent rectangular flap sothat when the wall panels are opened up to form a tube, the flaps folddownwards and outwards away from the wall panels with the zigzag-shapedflaps underlying the rectangular flaps and interlocking with one anotherto form a sturdy bottom closure for the box and with theconnected-together portions of the flap pairs forming transversedividing walls within the box, and wherein each flap in the first pairhas a laterally extending flap section hinged to its free end and meansfor connecting together overlapping portions of said laterally extendingflap sections so that two together form an additional transversedividing wall within the box.
 2. The box defined in claim 1 and furtherincluding means connected to the panels for closing the opposite end ofthe box.
 3. The box defined in claim 1 and further including a pair oflaterally extending tabs on the first pair of flaps, said tabs beingsituated directly below said laterally extending flap sections.
 4. Acompartmented box comprising a first pair of identical wall panels, asecond pair of identical wall panels hinged alternately to those in thefirst pair to form a tube, a first pair of substantially identicalzig-zag-shaped flaps hinged to the corresponding free edges of thepanels in the first pair, a second pair of identical generallyrectangular flaps hinged to the corresponding free edges of the panelsin the second pair, fold lines extending across said zig-zag-shaped andrectangular flaps, said fold lines being parallel to their hinges to thefirst and second pairs of wall panels and spaced therefrom a distanceapproximately equal to the width of the second pair of wall panels,means for connecting the free end portion of each zig-zag-shaped flap tothe free end portion of the adjacent rectangular flap so that when thewall panels are opened up to form a tube, the flap portions between saidfold lines and hinges fold downwards and outwards away from the wallpanels with the zig-zag-shaped flap portions underlying the rectangularflap portions and interlocking with one another to form a sturdy bottomclosure for the box, while the flap portions beyond said fold linesproject up parallel to the wall panels so that the rectangular flapportions beyond said fold lines form a pair of parallel upstanding wallswhich divide the box into at least three aligned compartments.
 5. Thebox defined in claim 4 wherein said zig-zag-shaped flap portions beyondsaid fold lines extend upwards along and lie flush against one of thewall panels in the first wall panel pair so as to strengthen the boxbottom closure.
 6. A box defined in claim 4 wherein the zig-zag-shapedflaps are dimensioned so that they engage one another substantially atthe center of the bottom closure just before the wall panels are fullyopened so that the flap portions comprising the bottom closure arepressed more tightly together by the box contents.
 7. A box blankcomprising an aligned series of four hinged-together wall panels,substantially identical zig-zag-shaped flaps hinged to correspondingfree edges of alternate ones of said wall panels, a pair ofsubstantially identical rectangular flaps hinged to the correspondingfree edges of the remaining wall panels adjacent said zig-zag-shapedflaps, hinge lines extending across said flaps, said hinge lines beinglocated substantially in a straight line which is parallel to the hingesbetween said flaps and said wall panels and spaced from said hinges adistance approximately equal to the width of said remaining wall panels.